The weather can be somewhat unpredictable in the Canary Islands in March: some years can be sunny and dry, while others can see a week or two of unsettled weather. There isn’t huge variation between the south of Tenerife, the south of Gran Canaria, Lanzarote or Fuerteventura at this time of year, though the north of Tenerife is quite a bit wetter than the south.
Daytime High Temperatures
Daytime maximums range between about 20 and 30°C at the coast in the Canary Islands in March. The average daily maximum temperature is around 23°C in the south of Tenerife and Lanzarote, and about 22°C in Fuerteventura and Gran Canaria. As I said above, the weather can be unpredictable in March, and there could be many cloudy days with highs of around 20°C, or it could be hot and sunny with highs close to 30°C. As is often the case, the northern side of Tenerife is, on average, a couple of degrees cooler than the south.
Nighttime Low Temperatures
While Lanzarote offers some of the best daytime temperatures in the Canaries in March, it is the coolest place to be at night, with average lows of about 15°C. On the other islands, nightly lows are about a degree or so warmer than that, and large urban areas will be warmer still.
Rain
While there are wild variations in the amount of rainfall seen in March, the northern parts of the western islands see far more rain than the southern parts of those islands. Similarly, Lanzarote usually sees a few more rainy days than Fuerteventura at this time of year.
The average total precipitation numbers are somewhat meaningless for the southern parts of the islands (from a visitor’s point-of-view), as some years see zero rainfall, and others see torrential downpours. On the other hand, the northern parts of the western islands always see at least some rain in March.
Cloud Cover
The usual cloudy in the north/sunny in the south rule applies across the islands in March. If it is cloudy in the north in the morning, this may well ‘burn off’ by the early afternoon.
Windy?
While not a particularly windy time of year in the Canaries (July and August are the windiest), there can be a fairly constant breeze on the eastern sides of the islands.
Sea Temperature
The sea remains at around its minimum temperature for the year during March in the Canaries. The eastern islands can expect sea temperatures of around 18°C, while the western islands see temperatures of around 19°C.
Links
Aemet – Canary Islands Weather forecast from the Spanish State Meteorological Service.
The weather in Lanzarote in March
The weather in Fuerteventura in March
The weather in Tenerife in March
The weather in Gran Canaria in March
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